Happy Halloween!

Here are some Halloween pictures for your viewing pleasure. We planned on Adam being a scarecrow this year, and he was for the Church party (I didn't get any pictures, sorry). Tonight our neighbor, Atleigh, and her mom and dad (John & Sara) came over to go trick-or-treating together. We thought it would cute to match Atleigh. So, we dressed Adam up as a "greaser," I guess that's what you call them...a guy from the 50's. I decided against rolling up a crayon box in his sleeve, he's only 19 months! He looked super cute anyway and he had such a good looking girl to go with! Too bad there wasn't a sock hop tonight.

All dressed up and ready to go! I have to say I love the shoes--I got them at WalMart on clearance for $3!! They just happened to work perfectly for tonight.

Adam and Atleigh look so stinkin' cute! They are ready to go trick-or-treating!

After trick-or-treating Adam takes a minute to play with Dad. He's such a cutie! We are so blessed!

Playing with his car and "posing" for Mom. He's really good and telling you about his elbow (or, "belbow" as he calls it).

All pooped out from a great evening with friends and a super yummy dinner that Daddy made (oven cooked ribs, with baked potatoes and zucchini--YUM!!!).

Looking at our life we feel so blessed. We have great neighbors who have become great friends. We love our ward and have great friends there (both wards!!). We have a beautiful home, plenty to eat, plenty to share, and many opportunities to serve. We really are blessed and so grateful to Heavenly Father. What a life!!

Keeping Busy

Well, when I was pregnant with Adam, I had work to keep me busy and some sewing projects after work. This helped me keep my mind off being pregnant and waiting for the baby to come. Now, I have a toddler to keep me busy and sewing and baking/cooking projects to keep me busy. We've tried some delicious new recipes and I've turned out some fun quilts (well, I think so anyway). Cake class has been fun too. My last course starts next week and I'm excited to learn more! Here are some pictures of what we've been up to.

This is the quilt that I made for my new nephew, Gavin Haynie. It was a little late...and I suppose I posted the pictures late so as not to spoil his surprise! It's a fun pattern that my Aunt Wendy taught me and I just keep reorganizing the squares to make different deigns.

This is just a close up with a shot of the backing. I LOVE the material I used for the backing on this quilt!! I got some extra so that I can use it when I make a blanket for our new little one.

And here's a rag quilt that I made for some neighbor friends down the street, Jeremy and Ashley. They just had their 2nd baby, Payton, and I thought it would be fun to make a "girly" quilt for her. One thing I've learned about rag quilts---they shed the little threads for a while, which is kind of annoying, but oh well. And it's a pain to cut all of the seams--and it's just a little quilt! It still turned out cute, I think. I made one for our baby too, I'll have to take a picture...and put it up with some ultrasound pictures.

And I was feeling adventurous on Friday and made bread bowls for dinner. We took some over to Jeremy and Ashley with the quilt. Every "new" mom deserves some time without having to cook! Brian helped me make potato soup and I must say it all turned out very well! Next time I think I need to do a better job putting on the "egg wash" so that it is more even.

I've also discovered a recipe for pumpkin cranberry muffins that I just love! It's not too sweet, so the baby seems to be ok with them. They are so yummy!! I made some tonight to take next door. They are so nice!! Mike, our neighbor, basically mowed our whole backyard for us today--they are so thoughtful!! We love having such good neighbors! They are such a blessing!

It's Raining Autumn Leaves in Fall...

Well, it's raining more than leaves out here. It's been raining for the last few days. So sad for Adam--he can't go outside to play! So we've tried finding more inside things to do to keep him occupied and happy. Here's Adam with Daddy on his first "horseback ride." I can't wait to take him on a real horse back ride! I loved horses as a kid (that's an understatement...).
Adam can now crawl up onto the piano bench all by himself and he loves to play. He also loves to play with the hymn book. Sadly, he also liked to play with the music stand on the piano and broke that last week. It now sits hidden in the piano bench. Good thing we bought a used one!

Here's a happy Adam playing in the sandbox when the weather was nice. Lucky for us, the squirrels stayed away. They have this annoying habit of coming onto our deck and eating my plants. Thus, no plants now.
He is just so silly! He found my shoes during family time one night and decided to put them on. He even tried to walk, but that was a little too much. The shoes are too heavy for him. I just love his face! It reminds me of Zac.

I'm now taking a fondant and gumpaste course in my cake decorating class series and this was my first one. One of the girls in our ward was baptized on Saturday and I wanted to make her a cake...so this was it. Hope it was ok!
Today we went to the doctor and they did the ultrasound. We are having a....baby!! It will still be a surprise. But I must be honest, I tried to look, but couldn't figure it out. So, it will just be baby until little one decides to come out. Good news: Angie (my sis-in-law) had her baby today!! Yay Angie!! I don't know how she did it...10 1/2 lb baby! Whoo!!

I also had to face the music today. I hate shots--I always have. But I needed my flu shot, in addition to more blood work. So, I decided to be like my son and tough it out. If he can handle having five shots in one visit, I can do one. It wasn't so bad. I'd say the blood draw hurt more...I figure because the needle was bigger. Anyways...we're good to go! And I think I'll head to bed. It's been a busy day. Hope everyone is well!

The Little One

Last night during my cake decorating class (of course during a short silence) and suddenly I splurted "oohh!" My teacher asked if I was ok. I said, "yeah, the baby just kicked for the first time." Ha!! It was a strong little kick. It surprised me. This morning I got to lay in bed feeling little one move and kick a little. It was really nice--some one-on-one time.

Adam's currently taking a nap after his lunch and a oober-grumpy phase and stabbing my hand with a ball point pen. People keep asking, "are you sure you want a girl?" I just want a healthy baby...but after all these "adventures" with Adam lately, I'm wondering. Can I handle another boy?? We'll have to see.

Adam did enjoy bubbles on the front porch this morning. He really loves bubbles. He always asks to sing the "bubble song" and will often start singing it himself. It's so cute! He also loved playing in his sandbox from Grandpa yesterday while the weather was nice. Sure seems like Fall is here to stay and I'm happy about that. Sweaters! We are all happy and well (minus grumpy phases...) and we miss our friends and family we can't see often. We hope you are all doing well!

The Fall Cake

I finally did it!! I finished my big cake! Well, it's not that "big" but it was a big deal for me. End-of-the-course project. I decided to do a fall cake. Since the baby still doesn't like sweets...it looked like Brian's guys at work would get the cake. But upon Brian's suggestion (they might be afraid to eat it, it looks so nice) I'll be taking to our Visiting Teaching Conference and dinner before the general RS broadcast. I'm so glad it turned out well. I added some pumpkin vines just for fun and I think it added a great touch!

And of course, we have to include Adam's latest and greatest. "So, Adam, what do you do when Mom is trying to clean in the kitchen and not paying close attention to you?"

"Well, yesterday I thought it would be great to climb up into the rocking chair, lean it back, tip it backwards so that it leans up against the window, then climb up onto the top and play with the blinds. Mommy kind of screamed when she came in, but then she left. I didn't think she minded. Then she had the camera. For proof. So Daddy could see what I can do now. Silly Mommy!"

Adam will not stay out of the fireplace. So I tried covering it with foam board, covered in fabric to try and be festive. This is what it looked like. Well, Adam had it down and was playing in the fireplace within 5 minutes. What am I going to do with him?? I really love him...but the oven and the fireplace (and now the pulling out of the vents) is driving me nuts! Yesterday I caught him shoving his overalls down the vent pipe after he had pulled out the vent. I bet our parents are thinking, "it's payback time!! They'll grow out of it..." That's the only thing that helps me deal with how fast he's growing...hopefully he'll grow out of "the naughties..."